SABIR ABDUL-HAQQ YASIR, APPELLANT,
v.
HOWARD C. FORMAN, CLERK OF COURTS, APPELLEE
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An incarcerated petitioner sought public records from the Broward County Clerk's office, filed a mandamus petition after months of delay, and was granted relief. The trial court then summarily denied his motion to tax the costs of enforcement without explanation, and the appellate court reversed and remanded because the trial court failed to make findings on whether the Clerk's refusal or delay was justified.
The trial court's summary denial of the motion to tax costs was reversed and remanded because the court failed to make findings regarding whether the Clerk's refusal or delay was justified. If the refusal or delay was unjustified, the petitioner would be entitled to reasonable costs of enforcement under section 119.12, and as an incarcerated party, to reasonable postage, envelope, and copying costs.
[1] Mandamus is an appropriate legal remedy to compel compliance with the Public Records Act.
[2] A party is entitled to the reasonable costs of enforcement under the Public Records Act when an agency unlawfully refuses or unduly delays the production of public record…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Unlawful refusal under section 119.12 includes not only affirmative refusal to produce records, but also unjustified delay in producing them.”
Establishes that delay in producing public records, without justification, constitutes unlawful refusal entitling the party to costs of enforcement.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe petitioner, who is incarcerated, submitted two public records requests to the Broward County Clerk's office in September and October 2012. Receivi…
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The petitioner appeals the trial court’s order denying his motion to tax costs. As neither the order nor the record explains the trial court’s rationale in denying the motion, we reverse and remand.
Background
The petitioner — who is incarcerated— sent two public records requests to the Broward County Clerk’s office, seeking copies of documents from the court file in his criminal case. The first request was dated September 3, 2012, and the second was dated October 1, 2012. Seemingly receiving no response from the Clerk’s office, the petitioner sought a judicial means of compelling the requested documents. He filed a petition for writ of mandamus on December 26, 2012, which *108was granted by the trial court. With this mandate from the court, the Clerk’s office finally complied with the petitioner’s records requests. In doing so, the petitioner incurred costs for copies and mailing.
The petitioner then filed a motion to tax costs. The trial court summarily denied this motion. The petitioner now appeals the denial of his motion to tax costs.
Trial Court failed to make sufficient findings to support its summary denial of the motion.
Mandamus is an appropriate means of compelling compliance with the Public Records Act. Weeks v. Golden, 764 So.2d 633, 634 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). A party is entitled to “the reasonable costs of enforcement” under section 119.12, Florida Statutes (2013), when “such agency unlawfully refused to permit a public record to be inspected or copied[.]” “Unlawful refusal under section 119.12 includes not only affirmative refusal to produce records, but also unjustified delay in producing them.” Lilker v. Suwannee Valley Transit Auth., 133 So.3d 654, 655-56 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014); see also Office of State Attorney for Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Fla. v. Gonzalez, 953 So.2d 759, 760 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); Barfield v. Town of Eatonville, 675 So.2d 223, 224 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996); Brunson v. Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd., 525 So.2d 933 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988).
In this case, the petitioner sent two public records requests before having to resort to the courts in order to compel compliance with his requests. Nearly four months after the petitioner sent his first request, and with an order from the court, the Clerk’s office finally surrendered the requested documents. The order denying the petitioner’s motion to tax costs does not address this delay. Thus, we are unable to surmise whether the Clerk’s refusal/delay was justified. If not, then the petitioner would be entitled to his costs pursuant to section 119.12. Lilker, 133 So.3d at 655-56.
Although section 119.12 provides a basis for costs associated with enforcing compliance with the Public Records Act, some postage, envelope and copying costs can also be awarded to a party who is incarcerated so long as those costs are reasonable. Weeks v. Golden, 846 So.2d 1247, 1249-50 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003). Accordingly, we reverse the order denying the petitioner’s motion to tax costs and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and Remanded.
STEVENSON and CIKLIN, JJ., concur.
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Citizens Awareness Found., Inc. v. Wantman Grp., Inc., 195 So. 3d 396 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…g until after the enforcement action has been commenced. Gonzalez, 953 So. 2d at 764. “Unlawful refusal under section 119.12- includes not only affirmative refusal to produce records, but also unjustified delay in producing them.” Yasir v. Forman, 149 So. 3d 107, 108 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) (quoting Lilker v. Suwannee Valley Transit Auth., 133 So. 3d 654, 655-56 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)). “Where delay is at issue, as here, the court must determine whether the delay was justified under the facts of the particular eas…
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Sabir Abdul-Haqq Yasir v. Forman, 199 So. 3d 1037 (Fla. 4th DCA 2016)…PER CURIAM. We reverse the trial court’s order summarily denying appellant’s motion for relief from judgment and remand for further proceedings. In Yasir v. Forman, 149 So. 3d 107 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), this Court reversed the denial of appellant’s motion to tax costs in his mandamus proceeding, which had sought to compel the circuit court clerk to comply with his public records request. We explained that, if the clerk’s refusa…
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DeMartini v. Town of Gulf Stream, 942 F.3d 1277 (11th Cir. 2019)…at least five business days before filing the civil action. Fla. Stat. § 119.12(1)(a), (b). "Unlawful refusal under [§] 119.12 includes not only affirmative refusal to produce records, but also unjustified delay in producing them.” Yasir v. Forman, 149 So. 3d 107, 108 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2014) (quotation omitted).³ In short, if the Town or Wantman did not promptly ³ As discussed later, the complainant does not recover attorney's fees (and instead has to pay attorney's fees) if the state court determines th…
Authorities Cited
- Weeks v. Golden, 764 So. 2d 633 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
- Off. of the State Attorney for the Thirteenth Jud. Cir. of Fla. v. Gonzalez, 953 So. 2d 759 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)
- Barfield v. Town OF Eatonville, 675 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996)
- Hamman v. Worling, 525 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)
- Weeks v. Golden, 846 So. 2d 1247 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003)
- Lilker v. Suwannee Valley Transit Auth. & Gwendolyn Pra, 133 So. 3d 654 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)